A new economic study – embraced by Springfield Schools Superintendent Daniel J. Warwick, Springfield Education Association President Timothy T. Collins and city business leaders – argues that the classroom teacher is the “in-school factor” with the greatest impact on student success.

Nicholas Fyntrilakis, left, and John Davis are co-chairmen of Springfield Business Leaders for Education.

The study, conducted by economists at Harvard and Columbia universities found the long-term impact of good teaching is far greater than one would expect.

In following 2.5 million students over 20 years, the researchers discovered that children who had highly effective elementary and middle school teachers had better outcomes in later life, including lower pregnancy rates, high college enrollment, better living conditions – and, even higher salaries.

Believing that every child deserves a great teacher, the Springfield School system is taking some bold and innovative actions to help make it so. We applaud those efforts. Indeed, strong action is needed to turn around the city’s underperforming schools where failure has been accepted for far too long.

To help in the turnaround, the city has adopted a new teacher evaluation system – Springfield Effective Educator Development System (SEEDS) – endorsed by the Springfield Business Leaders for Education (SBLE). It’s a system that encourages development and continuous improvement by aligning student achievement with “a teacher’s own goals,” wrote SBLE co-chairs John Davis and Nicholas A. Fyntrilakis in a Jan. 28 article in The Republican’s Business Monday section.

In addition, the school system has enlisted the Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University – also known as EdLabs – to intervene at five underperforming – or Level 4 – schools. Under the agreement, EdLabs is allowed to “excise” – or transfer – up to 50 percent of the core teaching staff at the faltering schools – if those teachers are not believed to be a “good fit” in the turnaround efforts. School administrators and EdLabs have already notified numerous teacher that they will no longer teach at the underperforming schools in the fall. (The schools include the High School of Commerce, Chestnut, John F. Kennedy, and Marcus Kiley middle schools and William DeBerry Elementary School.)

EdLabs will continue the implementation of intensive science, mathematics and reading curricula at the schools –along with small-group tutoring sessions for students.

We applaud Warwick and the teachers union for living up to their promises to keep the interests of students front and center.

There is an economic, political and moral urgency to change faltering systems, whatever the pain and expense is associated with that change. Springfield schoolchildren deserve – first and foremost – the best teachers we can find.